drought News

Big Progress on Wildfires, but Dangerous Winds on the Way

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Firefighters have been making significant progress Wednesday on the biggest wildfires burning unusually hot and fast for this time of year in the western United States. But forecasters from the Southwest to the southern High Plains …

Megadrought Threatens California Power Blackouts This Summer

The historic drought that’s choked off rivers and reservoirs from the Rocky Mountains to the California coast is threatening to strain power grids this summer, raising the specter of blackouts and forcing the region to rely on more fossil fuels. …

Wildfire Destroys at Least 150 Structures in New Mexico Town

RUIDOSO, N.M. (AP) — A wind-driven wildfire swept through neighborhoods in a mountain community in drought-stricken south-central New Mexico, burning at least 150 structures and forcing the evacuations of schools with 1,700 students, officials said Wednesday. Homes were among the …

Worst Fire Conditions in a Decade Put Kansas to West Texas at Risk

Some of the worst fire conditions in a decade are going to sweep across Texas and the southern Great Plains, threatening key shale-oil fields, slaughterhouses and farms. Dry gusting winds and low humidity will create extreme fire weather from Kansas …

Fire and Rain: West to Get More One-Two Extreme Climate Hits

The one-two punch of nasty wildfires followed by heavy downpours, triggering flooding and mudslides, will strike the U.S. West far more often in a warming-hopped world, becoming a frequent occurrence, a new study said. That fire-flood combination, with extreme drenchings …

California Drought Deepens as Wet Season is Anything but

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) _ California is experiencing one of the driest starts to spring in decades, data showed Friday, and absent a heavy dose of April and May showers the state’s drought will deepen and that could lead to stricter …

Texas Wildfires Fueled by Gusty Winds Prompt Evacuations

EASTLAND, Texas (AP) — Fire crews in Texas made progress Saturday against a massive complex of wildfires that have killed a deputy sheriff and burned at least 50 homes, officials said. “Progress has been made, but fire activity has picked …

UN: Droughts, Less Water in Europe as Warming Wrecks Crops

LA HERRADURA, Spain (AP) — “Herders and farmers have their feet on the ground, but their eyes on the sky.” The old saying is still popular in Spain’s rural communities who, faced with recurrent droughts, have historically paraded sculptures of …

Dry Winter Drains Reservoirs, Ruins Crops in Spain, Portugal

ACEREDO, Spain (AP) — Roofs peeking out of the water have become a common sight every summer at the Lindoso reservoir in northwestern Spain. In especially dry years, parts would appear of the old village of Aceredo, submerged three decades …

Hundreds Evacuated as Fire Burns Near California’s Big Sur

BIG SUR, Calif. (AP)–Hundreds of residents remained evacuated Sunday as crews battled a wildfire in rugged mountains along the California coast that forced the closure of the main roadway near Big Sur. One structure was damaged by the blaze that …